Pistol range ruling overturned

Thursday

Jan 4, 2018 at 2:32 PMJan 4, 2018 at 2:32 PM

By Ryan Bray

A pistol range that was shut down in July by order of the town's building commissioner can resume operation, this after the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted January 3 to overturn the decision.

Board members TJ Hurrie, Gerry Potamis, Edward Van Keuren, and Robert Dugan unanimously voted to overturn the order from Falmouth Building Commissioner Rod Palmer, citing testimony, sworn affidavits, and other evidence previously submitted to the board.

Based on soil samples and aerial photographs of the range at the Midway Trap and Skeet Club, Palmer determined that the pistol range, which is located next to a rifle range on the property, was built after a 1971 bylaw was enacted requiring gun ranges to obtain a special permit in order to operate. The rifle range, meanwhile, existed prior to the bylaw's adoption and is therefore exempt from requiring a permit.

The club appealed Palmer's order to the zoning board, saying that the pistol range should also be exempt from the bylaw. Zoning board members on January 3 agreed, saying they found ample evidence indicating that the pistol range also existed prior to 1971. Members cited testimony and affidavits showing the pistol range was in use prior to the bylaw being adopted.

"To me, it's very obvious that there was activity going back to the 1960s," Van Keuren said.

Dugan also cited testimony of the range's existence prior to 1971, while also disputing aerial photographs of the property that Palmer referenced in support of his decision. Dugan noted that the photographs were used to survey land used as the site of a cell tower near the range, not the range itself.

Potamis, meanwhile, said he didn't feel that the aerial photographs offered anything that the board could use in its decision.

"I don't think the aerials show anything one way or another," he said.

In his ruling, Palmer said based on observing soil on the property, he believed the pistol range was created well after the 1971 bylaw. He also noted the creation of a berm and backstop on the property, the installation of which he said would qualify the range to obtain a special permit in and of themselves.

Dugan, however, said he saw the creation of the berm as "a safety modification" rather than an expansion of the existing rifle range. He also said there is no conclusive evidence showing when the pistol range was established.

"There is no basis to back (Palmer's claim that the pistol range was established recently) up beyond observation," he said.

Board members also disputed complaints from neighbors regarding noise they say came from the club.

"There may be other factors beyond the club that contribute to the noise," Dugan said, citing possible noises from trees and wind.

Peter Hargraves, who lives in a neighborhood abutting the club on Old Meetinghouse Road, disagreed.

"These were 90 decibel gunshots," he said after the hearing. "Everyone's lived there long enough to distinguish the sound and the source (of the noise)."

Hargraves also criticized what he saw as the "flawed process" by which the board reviewed the club's appeal. The board heard two appeals, that from the club and a second from abutters to overturn Palmer's ruling that the rifle range could continue operation, together. The zoning board unanimously voted to uphold Palmer's ruling on December 14.

Hargarves said hearing both appeals together caused confusion among some board members, who he said mistakenly referenced the other appeal while deliberating about the pistol range January 3.

Edward George, Jr., the attorney representing the Midway Trap and Skeet Club, declined to comment on the board's decision.

Falmouth Zoning Administrator Sari Budrow said there is a January 15 deadline for the zoning office to file the board's decision with Town Clerk Michael Palmer. She said there is a 20-day window for the decision to be appealed in court.